LONG POND, Pa. (AP) 鈥� Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro declined to get into specifics on the potential for the state to provide funding for any new sports arenas 鈥� a possibility that looms with the Eagles鈥� lease set to expire in 2032 鈥� and said there were conversations about bringing NASCAR to Philadelphia as he championed the state鈥檚 full sports slate next year during an appearance Sunday at Pocono Raceway.
Shapiro said he would continue talking with Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie and the Rooney family in Pittsburgh about what 鈥� if anything 鈥� the NFL teams need when it comes to the state of their stadiums.
Pittsburgh鈥檚 Acrisure Stadium, the home of the Steelers, opened in 2001 while Lincoln Financial Field opened in 2003 in Philadelphia鈥檚 shared sports complex. The Eagles do not own the Linc. The team will need to renew its lease or build a new stadium, and Lurie said during the lead-up to the Super Bowl that he was 鈥渢orn鈥� over the idea of replacing the stadium or staying put in the home where they raised their only two Super Bowl championship banners.
If a new stadium is proposed, it won鈥檛 necessarily come with state money 鈥� Shapiro said the state would not provide any when the 76ers considered (ownership did not ask for the funds) last year.
(The 76ers decided to partner with Comcast Spectacor, their current landlord, to build a new arena in South Philadelphia.)
鈥淚鈥檓 very worried about the ,鈥� Shapiro said Sunday at Pocono. 鈥淚鈥檓 very worried about the overall economic situation given the federal cuts. You want to balance investing in tourism, investing in sports, investing in great arenas and facilities, with making sure that you鈥檙e also investing those dollars in things that Pennsylvanians need most.鈥�
Shapiro, who spoke ahead of the scheduled NASCAR Cup Series race at the track, declined to get into definitive discussions about any stadium conversations with the state鈥檚 NFL owners.
鈥淚 will tell you that we want to make sure the Steelers, we want to make sure the Eagles, and all of our pro teams have outstanding places to play,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat are welcoming for fans. That generate revenue.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to continue to dialog with them about what they need and what鈥檚 possible.鈥�
Shapiro promoted the financial impact generated for the state each year because of the NASCAR weekend at Pocono. He praised Pocono Raceway officials for its set for Sunday. The track sold out all frontstretch seating, premium seating, suites, infield camping and the grandstand camping area. It also is the fifth consecutive year that the entire infield camping inventory has been sold out.
Pocono President Ben May said the track sold around 50,000 grandstand tickets, around 2,000 suite seats and 3,300 camping spots.
NASCAR expressed at least a cursory interest in adding to its recent string of offbeat race locations 鈥� everywhere from Mexico City to a temporary track inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 鈥� and floated the idea of holding a race inside a Philadelphia stadium, Franklin Field. The site is traditionally home to the Penn Relays and college football.
鈥淭here鈥檚 some conversations,鈥� Shapiro said. 鈥淔irst and foremost, we don鈥檛 want to do anything that undermines Pocono. But as Ben (says), the more NASCAR the better. The more racing, the better. The more we can turn people on in communities that haven鈥檛 been to Pocono yet, to get excited about racing, and then make that trip to Pocono next year, the better. I want to see more NASCAR, more racing. I also just want to see more sports in general.鈥�
He鈥檒l get his wish next year.
Shapiro laughed when he said he calls into sports talk radio stations as 鈥淛osh from Juniata鈥� and was all-in on the heavy inventory of major sports events headed to the state.
Among the events in 2026, Pennsylvania will host the baseball All-Star Game at Citizens Bank Park, the World Cup at the Linc and the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club. The big year kicks off with the NFL draft in Pittsburgh next April.
鈥淚 worked my ass off to bring that to Pittsburgh, together with the Steelers,鈥� Shapiro said. 鈥淚鈥檓 excited for them.鈥�
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AP auto racing:
Dan Gelston, The Associated Press
